FED UP ACTIVISTS: 'It has taken Gary Cohn almost 2 weeks to find the backbone to gently criticize Trump'

Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesA group of liberal activists who have pressured the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low are calling on Gary Cohn, head of Donald Trump’s National Economic Council and a potential candidate to replace Janet Yellen as Fed chair, to resign.
Cohn, who is Jewish, told the Financial Times in an interview that he was disturbed by the events in Charlottesville and disappointed with the response of the president, who appeared to equate neo-Nazis and white supremacists with counterprotesters.
"Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK," Cohn said in a clear rebuke of his boss. Trump condemned violence "on many sides," drawing fierce criticism from all corners of the political spectrum.
Cohn said he decided to stay in the administration despite this because he feels can do more for the country from the inside, although many analysts speculate he’s merely waiting around for that Fed chair appointment, and keen to enact tax cuts and deregulation.
"As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting 'Jews will not replace us' to cause this jew to leave his job. I feel deep empathy for all who have been targeted by these hate groups. We must all unite together against them,” Cohn said.
The Fed Up coalition of community groups, which has successfully pushed the central bank to pay more attention to issues affecting the poor and minorities, said this was too little far too late.
"It has taken Gary Cohn almost two weeks to find the backbone to gently criticize Trump’s apologism for white supremacists, the KKK and neo-Nazis," the group said in a statement. "Cohn has not demonstrated the character, independence, or leadership to serve as Fed chair."
If he wants to "take a stand against racism and bigotry, he needs to resign. Cohn should announce that Janet Yellen is the most qualified candidate for the job of Fed Chair and resign from the Trump’s Director of the National Economic Council."NOW WATCH: GARY SHILLING: Stocks are expensive, and a 'shock' could send them plunging

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As discussed earlier, in an unexpectedly harsh response to Trump's Charlottesville comments, Trump’s top economic adviser Gary Cohn said in an FT interview published this morning that the administration needs to be more unequivocal in condemning hate groups, but added he was “reluctant” to quit over its response to a recent protest. '

Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesWhite House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during Friday's press briefing that she didn't think "anyone was surprised" by National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn's criticism of President Donald Trump's response to the white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month.

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Gary Cohn, President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, criticized the White House's response to Charlottesville, Virginia, in his first public remarks about the deadly violence earlier this month.

During a fiery, impromptu press conference that was supposed to address Trump's infrastructure proposal but quickly veered off into a discussion of Saturday's tragic events in Charlottesville, President Trump defended his initial response to the weekend violence in Charlottesville, saying he needed to "know the facts" before specifically calling out racist groups. Claiming he needed more information, Trump said “I didn't wait long,” saying “I wanted to make sure, unlike most politicians, that what I said was correct, not make a quick statement."

When Gary Cohn criticized Trump's response to the Charlottesville tragedy, he set off a sequence of events which not only appears to have cost the former Goldman COO his future job as Fed chair, but - according to an overnight report from Reuters - he job as Trump's chief economic advisor.

WASHINGTON — Under pressure all weekend, President Donald Trump on Monday named and condemned hate groups as “repugnant” in an updated, more forceful statement on the deadly, race-fueled clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“Racism is evil,” Trump said. “And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.”

AP Photo/Alex BrandonWhite nationalists and neo-Nazis celebrated President Donald Trump's remarks about the protests in Charlottesville, Virginia on Friday, in which he denounced violence "on all sides" rather than explicitly condemning white supremacism.